Interview with a Diva : Brit west from PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT

October 19, 2013

3 min read

When PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT drives in to San Diego, you can expect glitter, costumes, and amazing music accompanying the trio’s trek across the Australian outback. But keep your eyes on the sky as the “Divas” of the show take the air and sing the soundtrack of the characters lives.

One of the Divas is Brit West, who flies through the air with the greatest of ease while singing at such hits as “it’s Raining Men” and “I will Survive”. Having toured prior with “Legally Blonde” and the Nickelodeon “Storytime Live!” being an Angel on tour seemed like a fun way to tour!

“I’m very excited to get back on tour. I love touring. But it’s also grueling you’re traveling, you’re trying to eat well, you miss your family, you miss your friends. You miss your boyfriend, or you try really hard to have a boyfriend and you never see him. “ Brit says with a laugh.

But when with all that prior practice touring, there was one thing that made her stop and think before she accepted – singing and flying at the same time. “Mostly when it came to the show, the thing that I was a bit apprehensive about was singing that much, because we are literally singing the bulk of the show. This is the most singing I have ever done in a show, and then flying, because while I had done some flying with Nickelodeon, it was nowhere close to what I do in this show. Flying is a monster in of itself, it’s a lot higher, it’s with all the stuff you never see; with the lights, the rigging, the stuff you never see. So we’re up there hanging out and singing.”

Suspended above the stage, wearing a corset, and a harness, how does one sing and fly at the same time?
“We have stirrups that come off the harness around our heels to give ourselves some support. Remember what it felt like what it was like to sing on the floor, muscle memory so you don’t blow out your voice.”

While it might be hard doing feats of awesome entertainment while traveling from city to city, Brit says she loves touring. “We travel with 50 people in our cast and crew and management; and we hire people locally; it is such a team effort t to make a juggernaut of entertainment!
There is an immediate audience reaction, it’s live and there is no other shot at it. The audience will tell you what they like.. Every audience is different. It’s a dynamic reaction every single time, they react wholeheartedly, the really love it, or they think it’s really funny, or they really don’t like it. But it seems like everyone really loves Priscilla, bless her glittery heart.”

We’ve covered the tour, the tricks, and touring, what about the show itself?

“It’s an awesome show. It tells such a unique story of family and friendship. It’s very modern day, even though it’s based on a movie from the 90’s, it’s a feel good story. Then you add a hundred pounds of glitter on top of it, the 500 costumes, and people are flying and it makes people think ‘This is awesome!’ and the audience is on their feet at the end!”

Don’t miss your chance to see the awesome musical spectacle that is PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT at the San Diego Civic Theatre!